Toyota Considering 2nd Generation IS Accelerator Replacement

[IS-SV]

Originally Posted by Sarg I just had mine seviced, so I suppose there is possibly something in the works...but for now, they take out the mat, throw it in the trunk and you have the option of putting it back in...if you put it back in, they're not liable...the obstruction (mat) was removed, thus repaired. Note: only the most junior members of their legal staff really believes that.

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[Sarg]

Originally Posted by IS-SV

Note: only the most junior members of their legal staff really believes that.

Lol! You must be really "in-the -know" then...the inner workings of Lexus must make you somewhat of a CEO of the industry...so you must have all the information about the problem and what they're doing to solve it....why don't you enlighten us on your knowledge.

[IS-SV]

Originally Posted by Sarg

Lol! You must be really "in-the -know" then...the inner workings of Lexus must make you somewhat of a CEO of the industry...so you must have all the information about the problem and what they're doing to solve it....why don't you enlighten us on your knowledge.

lol, no way, but I am familiar with the typical legal staff of large corporations and have worked with many CEOs of substantial companies. And I don't expect the CEO to have any valuable input on this matter.

And by reading my recall notice, it's very obvious by their own words that Toyo/Lex has not come up with the final solution to the gas pedal sticking fiasco. So what we are seeing is CYA action by dealers including throwing mats in trunk and zip tieing mats to seat frames. None of these solutions are really permanent or final fixes appropriate for a premium luxury car such as a Lexus.

[Evitzee]

Originally Posted by IS-SV

lol, no way, but I am familiar with the typical legal staff of large corporations and have worked with many CEOs of substantial companies. And I don't expect the CEO to have any valuable input on this matter.

And by reading my recall notice, it's very obvious by their own words that Toyo/Lex has not come up with the final solution to the gas pedal sticking fiasco. So what we are seeing is CYA action by dealers including throwing mats in trunk and zip tieing mats to seat frames. None of these solutions are really permanent or final fixes appropriate for a premium luxury car such as a Lexus.

Agree, all of this is a CYA action to protect Toyota from lawyers who could milk the company for billions, like breast implants, power lines, preservative in vaccines and other hysterical/bogus issues the trial bar has used to extract money from legitimate businesses. The media jumped on this story and blew it all out of proportion to what it was, a combination of factors that, together, had a bad outcome. (Wrong floormats, strange car, inattention and lack of skill of driver who didn't know how to react to solve the problem). Instead of having Lexus paying damages and moving on the media went with it and made a 'story' out of it. And a crisis was born.

The recall letter is nonsensical other than saying "Houston, we have a problem, but we don't know what we are going to do about it" The telling line in the INTERIM NOTICE is, "The defect is the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat to interfere with the accelerator pedal and cause it to get stuck in the wide open position." How is this situation different than that which would apply to the hundreds of millions of car floormats (OEM and aftermarket) installed in the last 50+ years? The simple answer to all of this is there is no problem or defect. If the thin carpeted stock mats which come with the car are clipped on to the hooks they physically can't interfere with the pedal assembly. End of story. Instead we are going to wring our hands and make a problem because our own stupidity and lack of preparation might cause a problem. The way the problem is being approached there will be only one solution: "Nothing can be placed on the driver's side floor unless it is permanently attached". Lexus even says this, the "defect is the potential for an usecured floormat ....." Bye, bye removeable floormats, not only in Lexus but in every vehicle made going forward, and perhaps forcing the removal, by law, of every driver's side floormat. Don't think it can't happen when the safety zealots get a hold of an 'issue' like this.

I will attempt to forestall as hard as I can to any monkeying around with the floormats in my car whenever the 'solution' is found. The stock floormats are just fine as they are. We have chosen to live in an increasingly oppressive nanny state. Shame on us.

[IS-SV]

btw - We have another poster (an experienced owner of many cars) who noticed the hook in his wife's Lexus was broken and the mat was out of position. I'm wonder if the final solution will involve more durable hooks.

[Evitzee]

Originally Posted by IS-SV

btw - We have another poster (an experienced owner of many cars) who noticed the hook in his wife's Lexus was broken and the mat was out of position. I'm wonder if the final solution will involve more durable hooks.

I suspect the final solution will be something along a four point attachment with screws, or similar, which will not allow the floormat to budge in operation and won't allow them to come loose in use. And they won't be made out of plastic that can snap off. Of course that will make it a PITA to remove them easily when cleaning the car. And how do you prevent Mr. John Q. Public from throwing on winter mats and then claiming 'they bunch up and interfere with my pedal?'. Maybe we just prohibit aftermarket mats from being sold. However this plays out will have ramifications far wider than just the Lexus/Toyota brand. Once we have started down this road no telling where it will end.

[Evitzee]

Originally Posted by Sarg

It has nothing to do with the stock floor mats....I spoke to a Lexus rep and the cause of the accident was from aftermarket all-weather floormats installed OVER the OEM mats...they were not secured and thus rolled up under the brake pedal and didn't permit the occupants to brake....the recall fix: remove the OEM mat on the driver side when getting serviced....you just reinstall it when you pick up your car...there is no defect....just don't install aftermarket mats to "save" your OEM mats

Incorrect, the Safety Recall definitely covers the thin stock floormats that come with the car. Just read the parts number on the sheet that come with the notice, the carpetted mats are part of the 'defect'.

I agree there is no defect, but whatever solution they come up with will include the carpetted mats. If they devise some sort of Rube Goldberg solution I will just remove the mats whenever I take it in for service. I'm not letting them fool around with a perfectly fine system they have now (the hook system).

[15951]

I took my car in a few weeks ago and asked if they intended to zip tie or remove my mats, and the asst. service manager laughed. He said that Lexus had been making them do that for awhile, but they came to their senses and are only checking to make sure the mats are on the hooks now.

And now back to our regularly scheduled insanity...

[IS-SV]

Originally Posted by 15951

I took my car in a few weeks ago and asked if they intended to zip tie or remove my mats, and the asst. service manager laughed. He said that Lexus had been making them do that for awhile, but they came to their senses and are only checking to make sure the mats are on the hooks now.

And now back to our regularly scheduled insanity...

Mmmm now even the dealers are laughing (and some applying half-ass, CYA solutions that vary from dealership to dealership).

But to corporate (accruing Contigent Liabilities by the billions), it's a serious enough matter that needs a solution.

[wolverine]

this **** is human error if your too dumb to notice the floormats riding up then you deserve to crash for being a retard

[lsD]

I work for a Toyota plant here in Ca, and one of the vehicles we make (Tacoma) is subject to this recall. Although we have had a QC team on the accelerator pedals since the recall, no changes have been made to it.

[Kurtz]

Originally Posted by lsD

I work for a Toyota plant here in Ca, and one of the vehicles we make (Tacoma) is subject to this recall. Although we have had a QC team on the accelerator pedals since the recall, no changes have been made to it.

Probably because there's nothing wrong with em.

This is a "problem" that requires a perfect storm of:

A) Someone too dumb to install floor mats correctly.

AND

B) Those improperly installed mats moved around exactly in the right way to make the accelerator get stuck

AND

C) A driver too dumb to know what to do if your accelerator gets stuck.

[tC_demon]

Originally Posted by wolverine

this **** is human error if your too dumb to notice the floormats riding up then you deserve to crash for being a retard

+1...Just like I told my sister for buying Rubbermaid Mats for her Scion tC, mats are not even hook and they are too small, they keep shifting around. Every time I have to drive her car I throw the driver mat in the trunk.

[lsD]

my point exactly

[cajun]

Official: Toyota will, indeed, supply new accelerator pedals for all vehicles involved, including the Lexus IS.

PRESS RELEASE:

Toyota Announces Fix for Accelerator Pedal Entrapment Problem

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today announced that Toyota has identified a vehicle-based remedy to fix a sudden acceleration safety issue involving floor mats trapping accelerator pedals in various Toyota and Lexus models. Toyota announced the recall of these vehicles in early October and said it would soon develop a vehicle-based remedy to reduce the risk of a crash due to accelerator pedal entrapment.

The models involved in the recall are: 2007 to 2010 MY Camry, 2005 to 2010 MY Avalon, 2004 to 2009 MY Prius, 2005-2010 MY Tacoma, 2007-2010 MY Tundra, 2007-2010 MY ES 350, 2006-2010 MY IS 250, and 2006 to 2010 MY IS 350.

NHTSA said Toyota plans to reconfigure the accelerator pedal, and in some cases the shape of the floor surface under the pedal, to address the risk of pedal entrapment due to floor mat interference, particularly with regard to inappropriate or improperly attached floor mats. At the same time, Toyota will develop replacement pedals for these vehicles, which will become available for some models in April 2010. Toyota will provide owners with the new pedal, when it becomes available, even if the vehicle has already received the modified pedal under the recall.

In addition, vehicles with any genuine Toyota or Lexus accessory all-weather floor mats will be provided with newly-designed replacement driver- and front-passenger side all-weather mats.

NHTSA also said that Toyota will, in addition to these announced vehicle-based remedies, install a brake override system on the involved Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models as an "extra measure of confidence." The brake override system would ensure the vehicle would stop if both the brake and the accelerator pedals are simultaneously applied. NHTSA is particularly pleased that Toyota is taking this additional step.

NHTSA said that Toyota intends to notify vehicle owners on a rolling basis, starting with owners of the ES 350, Camry, and Avalon vehicles. While awaiting Toyota's notification, NHTSA urges owners to remove all removable driver's side floor mats and not replace them until their vehicles have received the remedies being provided by Toyota. Toyota will begin making the necessary fixes to the recalled vehicles beginning early in 2010, perhaps in January. Initially, Toyota dealers will be instructed on how to reshape existing accelerator pedals. Later, replacement accelerator pedals will be available for installation on vehicles not yet remedied or, if the owner so chooses, even to replace the modified pedals.

For more information, consumers are urged to contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

# # #

PRESS RELEASE:

Toyota Announces Details of Remedy to Address Potential Accelerator Pedal Entrapment
Torrance, Calif., November 25, 2009 - - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) announced today details of the vehicle-based remedy to address the root cause of the potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals in certain Toyota and Lexus models. Toyota issued a consumer safety advisory on September 29 on this issue and has, as an interim measure, commenced the mailing of safety notices to certain Toyota and Lexus owners on October 30.

The models involved are: 2007 to 2010 MY (model year) Camry, 2005 to 2010 MY Avalon, 2004 to 2009 MY Prius, 2005 to 2010 MY Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 MY Tundra, 2007 to 2010 MY ES350, 2006 to 2010 MY IS250, and 2006 to 2010 MY IS 350.

The specific measures of the vehicle-based remedy are as follows:

1. The shape of the accelerator pedal will be reconfigured to address the risk of floor mat entrapment, even when an older-design all-weather floor mat or other inappropriate floor mat is improperly attached, or is placed on top of another floor mat. For the ES350, Camry, and Avalon models involved, the shape of the floor surface underneath will also be reconfigured to increase the space between the accelerator pedal and the floor.

2. Vehicles with any genuine Toyota or Lexus accessory all-weather floor mat will be provided with newly-designed replacement driver- and front passenger-side all-weather floor mats.

In addition, as a separate measure independent of the vehicle-based remedy, Toyota will install a brake override system onto the involved Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS350 and IS 250 models as an extra measure of confidence. This system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator and brake pedals.

Toyota is in the process of completing development of these actions and for the ES350, Camry, and Avalon will start notifying owners of the involved vehicles via first-class mail by the end of this year. The remedy process regarding the other five models will occur on a rolling schedule during 2010.

Dealers will be trained and equipped to make the necessary modifications to these models starting at the beginning of 2010. Initially, dealers will be instructed on how to reshape the accelerator pedal for the repair. As replacement parts with the same shape as the modified pedal become available, they will be made available to dealers for the repair, beginning around April 2010. Customers who have had the remedy completed will have the opportunity to receive a new pedal if they desire.

In the meantime, owners of the involved vehicles are asked to take out any removable driver's floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat until they are notified of the vehicle-based remedy, as notified in the consumer safety advisory and the interim notice.

The brake override system will be made standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus product lines starting with January 2010 production of ES350 and Camry and is scheduled to be incorporated into new production of most models by the end of 2010.

The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern and Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified.

Owners who have further questions are asked to visit www.toyota.com or www.lexus.com or contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-295-3987.